Saint Paul, Minnesota: Before the opening of the firstCrazy Carrot Juice Bar, marketer Eric Strauss engagedin some forward thinking. He spent $73 to put togethera life-sized carrot costume, which was worn at severalspecial events around town.
Over the next year, the “Carrot” made many publicappearances. It was featured in various print, radio,and television media, and became largely responsiblefor catapulting the company’s success. Eventually, theCrazy Carrot Juice Bar expanded to five stores and 65employees, and was then sold to industry giant JambaJuice -- all for a mere $73 investment.
Irvington, New York: The Flying Fingers Yarn Shop,just outside of Manhattan, was looking to expand itscustomer base. At the suggestion of a marketingconsultant, the company secured three giant balls ofyarn, complete with knitting needles, to the roof of amodified van and called it the Yarn Bus.
On weekends, the Yarn Bus travels between Irvingtonand NYC, promoting visibility and making specialappearances at news events. Flying Fingers has seen agood increase in store traffic, but more importantly,people who might not make the physical trip to thestore are made aware of their website, where they canlearn about knitting classes offered by the store andpurchase knitting supplies. The high visibility of theYarn Bus has produced excellent results.
Manhattan, New York: Even not-for-profit businesseslook to expand their reach. The Marble Church sought away to attract younger members and revitalize theircongregation. So, they turned to a marketing firm whocame up with some unusual ways to get the word out.
One Labor Day weekend, hundreds of Hamptons weekendersvisitors to the Hamptons spotted an airplane bannerbearing the intriguing message: “Make a friend in avery high place. Marblechurch.org.” In addition, thechurch rented a low-cost mobile billboard (mounted onthe side of a van) that drove around Manhattan. Thesign read: “In This Town It Doesn’t Hurt to Have GodOnon Your Side.”
These creative messages, delivered in creative ways,introduced Marble Church to people who would otherwisenever have heard of the place. As a result, the churchreported a 31% increase in membership.
Oregon: Odd giveaways abound. People are intrigued bythe unusual, which may explain why the Les Schwab tiredealership’s “free beef in February” promotion keepscustomers coming back, or why a nearby bank receivesexcellent local media coverage for their yearlytradition of giving away free Vidalia onions to anyonewho walks in.
Want to learn more about it? Download the free ebook, Steps to Article Marketing Success.
Source: www.articlecity.com
